Preparing for the future: What skills do our kids really need to learn?

Satisfying and encouraging kids’ thirst for knowledge is a cornerstone of the whyzz philosophy. By supporting curiosity and providing a place where questions are not just answered but where they are also applauded, we aim to nurture children who will be intelligent, open-minded, and ready to take on the world around us!

In the recent article "Where No Child Left Behind Went Wrong," author Adam Richardson makes the point that this type of learning may be exactly what our nation’s schools are lacking. To enhance the No Child Left Behind Act and enable it to really close the gap in school achievement between different income levels and ethnicities, Richardson says we must decrease the focus on “the Three R’s… reading, “˜riting, “˜rithmetic,” and instead increase the focus on what he calls “the Four C’s… Creativity, Complexity, Curiosity, and Collaboration.”

These Four C’s, Richardson explains, are the skills children need to compete and succeed in both today’s world and the future. Encouraging creativity, for example, fosters the ability to think in new, interesting, and unique ways essential for inventiveness, problem-solving, and rising above the rest. Likewise, teaching complexity shows kids that there isn’t one single answer to every question; something that is likely to become the case more and more often going forward.

Of course, learning curiosity is also of great importance. To cultivate curiosity teaches kids about how to acquire knowledge, and praises them for being inquisitive. This readies today’s students to overcome uncertainties and seek out the continued education that will help them to succeed. Those who are curious investigate and explore the world around them, helping them to be well-rounded and engaged in what they do.

Last but not least is collaboration. To be able to work in teams will allow kids to thrive when they reach the workplace, and shows them that how the final outcome is reached can be just as important as the outcome itself.

Through lessening the emphasis on testing and heightening the importance of creativity, complexity, curiosity, and collaboration, we can empower future generations to have skills that will help them just as much as math, writing, and reading if not more. By providing answers, ideas for exploration, projects, experiments, and insights, whyzz is there to help young people on their journey!